Tenets of Faith

This church accepts the Holy Scriptures as the revealed will of God, the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice, for the purpose of maintaining general unity.

A. The Scriptures. We believe the Scriptures to be inspired of God, the special revelation of God to man, the infallible, inerrant, authoritative guide for faith and conduct (2 Tim. 3:15-17; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21).
B. The One True God. We believe that the God of the Bible has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent “I AM”, the Creator of heaven and earth, and the Sovereign of mankind. He eternally exists in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Deut. 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-11; Matt. 28:19; Luke 3:22).
C. The Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. We believe His sinless life and miracles validated His claims to be Who He claimed to be, God the Son (John 5:36; Acts 2:22). We believe that He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice. We believe that our redemption and salvation is guaranteed to us by His literal physical resurrection from the dead (John 1:1, 14, 18; Luke 1:35; Rom. 3:24-26; 4:25). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, exalted to the right hand of God, where as His people’s High Priest He fulfills the ministry of intercession and advocacy (Heb. 1:3; 12:2; 3:1; 7:23-25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2).
D. The Holy Spirit. We believe the Holy Spirit is a Person who convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. In the present age He regenerates believers in Christ, baptizes them into the church, the body of Christ, indwells them permanently, seals them unto the day of redemption, bestows spiritual gifts upon each one, and fills (controls) those yielded to Him (John 15:26-27; 16:7-15; John 3:8; 1 Cor. 12:13; John 14:16; Eph. 4:30; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; Eph. 5:18).
E. The Fall of Man. We believe man was created good and upright. However, man fell through sin, and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death, eternal separation from God (Gen. 1:26-27; 2:17; 3:6; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23; 5:12-19; 6:23).
F. Salvation. We believe that salvation is a grace-gift of God, and is received by man as he turns to God through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; 3:16; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-9).
G. The Security of the Believer. We believe that the salvation of the genuine believers who have placed their faith in Christ is kept secure in Him forever (John 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 29-30, 38-39; 1 John 5:11-12).
H. The Church. We believe that the Church, the body and bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again believers of this present age irrespective of their affiliation with Christian organizations (Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27; 1 Cor. 12:12-13).
I. Life and Marriage. We believe that Scripture provides God’s design and instruction regarding the sanctity of human life, human sexuality and marriage relationships; and as such, all human life is sacred and valuable from conception to natural death; and that sexual intimacy is to be reserved for marriage between one man and one woman; and that upon conception one’s gender is one of many inherent personal attributes sovereignly designed by God (Gen. 1:27-28; 2:18-25; Psalm 139:13-16; Eph. 5:22-33).
J. The Second Coming of Christ. We believe in the personal imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His own, the Church, and His subsequent premillennial return to earth to set up His kingdom (1 Thess. 1:9-10; 4:13-18; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 20:6).
K. The Eternal State. We believe that the souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do at death immediately pass into His presence, and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His coming for the Church, when soul and body reunited shall be associated with Him forever in glory; but the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery until the final judgment of the great white throne at the close of the millennium, when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting separation from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power (Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 20:11-15).
L. The Believers’ Service to the Lord. We believe that all believers are to walk by the Spirit, and to live lives that are set apart to the Lord, not turning aside to worldly pleasures and practices (Rom. 12:1-2; Gal. 5:16, 25; 2 Cor. 6:14; 7:1). We believe that every believer is called to witness by life and by word to the truths of God revealed in Scripture and to participate in the proclamation of the Gospel to all the world (Acts 1:8). We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to consider the blessings bestowed upon them by the Lord, remember the work of the Lord in prayer, participate in it through acts of service, and support it financially as the Lord has prospered them (1 Cor. 16:2).
M. Church Ordinances. We believe that the Lord Jesus instituted the ordinance of water baptism, not as a means of salvation, but as an outward sign of the spiritual re-birth of the believer (Matt. 28:19-20; Rom. 6:3-11). Biblical baptism is a voluntary act of obedience to Christ (Acts. 8:37-38). We believe that the Lord Jesus instituted the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper to be observed regularly by all believers until His return (1 Cor. 11:23-26). Every believer is instructed to examine himself before partaking of the elements (1 Cor. 11:27-28).